Claimed Beauty (The Cubi Book 2) Read online

  “I’m sorry, My Lord,” Daniel said. The purple-eye nodded and gave a hint of a smile. Daniel looked anywhere but at Jonah, finding Jeff winking at him. It eased Daniel’s anger at Jonah’s outburst. Gordon looked sour and kept sending Jonah angry stares. He wondered if the two were friends since they had been invited together. He couldn’t ask him now, though.

  The door opened, and the Grand House, Caledon, and Seldon returned. Everybody but The Grand Lady, Caledon, and Seldon took a seat.

  “It will be as Sire Seldon has decided. Three days of starvation, three overdoses a day over three days of public feeding, and fifty lashes. As I said, we find his punishment lenient, and we find your lack of respect for the hierarchy we live under in the Great House of Dahlidin disturbing. Therefore, this punishment will be once a month for ten months. One for each House you have disrespected today,” she motioned for the eight of them. “And one for your own House Lord.” She pointed to Caledon. “And once for the disrespect you showed Sire Seldon. He will be the one to execute the punishment monthly, and we will each give you the three overdoses for your insults. Lord Caledon will find the ones to participate in the monthly feedings.”

  Jonah sucked in air to complain, his expression revealing the true horror of what lay in his future.

  “And now might be a dandy time for you to think before you speak,” the Grand Lady warned, pointing at Jonah.

  He sat back, looking petulant.

  “Is the punishment understood?” the Grand Lady asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “What?”

  “Yes, Grand Lady.” But Jonah sounded more like he attempted to spit the words in her face.

  “The punishment is upped to count twelve months,” she said and gave Jonah a challenging stare. “The last day of Sire Seldon’s punishment will be the last of yours as well. Once done, Sire Seldon is freed of the demands for him to meet, too.”

  Jonah gaped, but he chose to shut up. Daniel couldn’t believe Seldon’s chosen punishment had just been multiplied by twelve because of lack of respect, yet he thought the Grand House’s opinion of it being too lenient was the real reason behind upping it that much.

  “Lord Caledon, find Jonah a shirt matching Sire Seldon’s,” Grand Lady Geodin continued. “Jonah, you will wear it whenever you leave your home. If you are found not wearing it, you will receive ten lashes for every time you don’t.”

  “What does it mean?” Jonah asked, looking around.

  “Daniel, would you enlighten the red-eye?” Caledon asked.

  “Yes, My Lord.” Daniel looked at Jonah. “It means you’re a Fuck-up.”

  Grand Lady Geodin snorted laughter. “In a crude term, yes. It means you’ve lost your status due to either ignorance or deliberate lack of respect for our ways. The limitations it will have for you will be explained by Lord Caledon upon delivery of the shirt.”

  Wow, that was a lot more than Daniel had thought, and his anger at Seldon having lost his status because of Jonah picked up. At least Seldon was under house arrest so no one would see him degraded like that often. Why he suddenly cared so much about Seldon’s position still escaped him. But he knew that when he looked at the big man, he felt somewhat possessive and like the honor and status of one reflected on the other.

  “Our business here is thus concluded. Sire Seldon, if you would go feed Daniel, we will meet in the arena of your House for the conclusion of the punishments.”

  “Yes, Grand Lady,” Seldon said.

  The purple-eye guided Jonah to his feet as the Grand House stood and left the room. Daniel followed Seldon back to the apartment, stopping short when he saw the mark on the front door. It looked familiar. He turned to pull at Seldon’s shirt to flatten the fabric enough to see the symbol. It was the same.

  “What does the status mean? She still called you Sire.”

  “It means we lose our privilege to feed on the breeders. It’s like temporary ghosting. In my case, I get to feed on you, and you saw Caledon’s face when he pulled that one off because that’s more like a gift with too much of a good thing being the punishment. In Jonah’s case, it means he’s not allowed to feed on anyone but the labor. The old breeders that no longer feed us. Like the cleaning lady.”

  “So…old and wrinkled people.”

  Seldon nodded and opened the door. “Exactly. This shirt also means that other Cubi are allowed to ridicule us while we wear it.”

  “Good thing you have house arrest. Can’t imagine anyone coming in here to give you lip about this.”

  “No, they might just spit on my door or some shit. Write derogatory words. I know I’ve done that to others.”

  “How often do people get this shirt?”

  “Pretty often. Humiliation is Caledon’s favorite weapon for disrespecting him. Hell, I use them, too, when the ones under my area fuck up.” Seldon snorted and leaned against the wall, looking at Daniel.

  “What?”

  “Feeding time.”

  Daniel finally registered what was amiss with Seldon. He had that brave smile. The one he’d had after Daniel had come to after the dose and classification and he was taken away. The one he’d had when he told Daniel that everything was going to be alright. The one he smiled during his sentencing to make Daniel feel at ease. Later on, Seldon would receive his one hundred lashes, and all Seldon tried to do was calm Daniel down. His respect for the big man grew, and so did the anger that he had to go through it because of Daniel. It wasn’t Seldon’s fault, and Daniel decided to make sure he’d never felt like it was.

  “In the mood for something in particular?” Daniel asked and leaned into Seldon.

  “Don’t have time for what I’d like.”

  Daniel stretched to plant a soft kiss on Seldon’s lips. “Anything,” he whispered.

  Seldon drew him in close and deepened the kiss, sidestepping them to hip-bump the door to his office open. Daniel had never been in there, and the only thing he got to see was from the view lying on the desk where Seldon placed him.

  “Anything? I’m in the mood for hard, fast, and sweaty.” Seldon pulled the red shirt off so fast Daniel could hear the seams stretch and crack. This could hurt. “I’ll be careful with you, don’t worry.” Seldon leaned over him for another deep kiss, and Daniel’s hunger rose. Fingers moved between them to unbutton Daniel’s shirt and pants, leaving more skin contact that set his hunger ablaze. Hard, fast, and sweaty became more and more appealing, and Daniel groaned as his pants slipped over his ass and down his legs.

  Daniel sat up and pulled his shirt off, while Seldon made short work of his own pants. Man, Daniel practically drooled at the sight of Seldon’s naked body. And he wasn’t even dosed, but the guy was pure sex on legs. So far, he’d been gentle yet demanding, given and received both oral and a dick up the ass.

  Growling at only managing to get one hand free, Daniel decided to not care about the other sleeve and focus on a nipple instead since it was just at his height. Seldon groaned and pressed against him, the sound and feel of him sending a jolt of pleasure to Daniel’s already achingly hard cock. He reached down to close his hand around Seldon’s hard-on, loving the feel of the soft skin over the thick hardness.

  “Oh, yeah,” Seldon moaned and drew back to cup Daniel’s face and kiss him again. “Lie back so I can prep you.”

  Daniel did, keeping his eyes on Seldon who had magically made a tube of lube appear from somewhere. Daniel grinned at the stuff being everywhere, but he saw the practicality of it.

  “What are you grinning at?” Seldon asked, looking amused as he grabbed Daniel’s ankles and hoisted his legs up to rest on Seldon’s shoulders.

  “Nothing,” Daniel said. “I was thinking how thankful I was that you stock that stuff everywhere.”

  Seldon wiggled his brows at him and put a cold, lubed finger between Daniel’s ass cheeks. Daniel hissed at the coldness, but warmth soon spread and right behind it came the pleasure.

  “Oh, man, this feels so much better when you do it,” Daniel sa
id, breathing heavily.

  “Me? Compared to whom?”

  “Myself,” Daniel said, laughing.

  “Oh, so you had tried this. Makes more sense then.”

  “I tried a little when I watched Caledon fuck you.”

  “Really? Why?” Seldon pressed in another finger, making Daniel gasp as his hunger rose and the prickly sensation spread over his skin.

  “I wanted to know what it felt like because I knew you were going to do it someday.”

  “Did you like it?”

  “Not as much as I do now.”

  “Glad to hear it.” Seldon sat on his chair and rolled it closer. Daniel looked down to see what he was doing but gave up focusing on it when Seldon gently sucked a nut into his mouth. Holy, shit, that felt good.

  “Like that too!” Daniel groaned and floated away in pure pleasure and rising lust as Seldon continued stretching him and teasing him with his mouth. Hunger rose to unbearable heights when Seldon groaned loudly and shoved his fingers in harder. “Oh, fuck, Seldon…now, please.”

  Seldon got up, his eyes dark and heavy-lidded as he pulled his fingers out and positioned his cock. Daniel loved that look, and his dick twitched in anticipation when he felt the head press against his slick opening. Relaxing as much as possible and anticipating the sting, Daniel breathed through the breach as he’d done earlier. Seldon leaned over Daniel as he pushed into him in one long thrust, groaning into Daniel’s mouth.

  He held still for a few seconds, giving Daniel time to adjust, but he really wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted hard, fast, and sweaty. After the initial thrusts to probably make sure Daniel was up for it, the thrusts changed, and Daniel thrashed on the desk as Seldon set a bruising pace that overwhelmed Daniel with so much pleasure he could barely stand it. Had he been dosed? Was it the dose? Damn, Daniel was so horny he didn’t even know the difference at that point.

  “Look at me, cub, look at me with those beautiful eyes,” Seldon urged, and Daniel looked up at him.

  “Oh, yeah, big guy, give it to me,” Daniel panted. A mask of pure bliss slid over Seldon’s face before he ground his teeth and growled from deep in his throat. It sounded almost animalistic, and Daniel felt more heat spread in his ass.

  “Fuck!” Seldon roared and shuddered in climax, but Daniel definitely knew that was a dose along with spurts of semen. A desperate need to get fucked harder slammed over him as his body began absorbing the energy from Seldon’s cum. Once again, the dose removed the barrier between brain and mouth.

  “Oh fuck, don’t stop, don’t stop fucking me! I need it hard, oh God, fuck me harder!”

  Seldon reached under Daniel’s ass and lifted it off the table, thus adjusting his angle to really be able to plow into Daniel, whose spine and ass felt on fire. The grunts from Seldon and the sound of their skin slapping against each other resounded in the office. Daniel held on tightly to the edge of the desk and stared up at the Incubus giving him the hardest fuck he’d ever had.

  The fire in his spine moved south to pool in his balls as they drew up and his cock grew harder.

  “I’m gonna come, Seldon, oh God, you’re making me come so hard!” Daniel’s orgasm hit, and Seldon went rigid again, roaring into the office. Another batch of semen filled Daniel while his own coated his chest and even hit his cheek when his cock jetted thick ropes of cum.

  Seldon slumped forward, holding himself above Daniel on shaky arms, heaving for air. “Damn, cub.”

  “How many times did you dose me?”

  Seldon cackled. “Oops.”

  “Oops? You lost one, again?”

  Seldon grinned, looking thoroughly spent and satiated. For some reason, making Seldon lose control of doses made Daniel feel attractive and lusted for, and he fucking loved it. This was gonna be a fun sport—making Seldon that horny.

  “Oh, good.”

  Both Daniel and Seldon jumped and looked to the door where Caledon stood with his arms crossed over his chest and a grin plastered on his handsome face.

  “Maybe the cub will be full enough to leave you alone tonight.”

  “Are we late?” Seldon asked and pulled out, finding wet wipes in his drawer. But then he seemed to think better of it and leaned over Daniel to lick up the cum from his face and body. Daniel actually liked that and relaxed at the tender treatment.

  “No, but you’re cutting it close. Do a quick clean-up and put some clothes on.”

  “Yes, My Lord,” Daniel and Seldon said. Daniel fought against the shirt still attached by the cuff on his right hand. Caledon sputtered laughter and left the office, while Daniel scrambled off the desk and looked around for his clothes. Seldon looked mighty pleased with himself as he walked around the office naked and picked up clothes. One piece of clothing he fished from the top of a file cabinet.

  “Could you get that?” Seldon pointed to Daniel’s pants by the desk leg. Daniel picked them up and followed Seldon through to the bathroom where they threw the clothes in the hamper, and Daniel finally managed to free his hand from the shirt.

  Chapter Nine

  Upon arriving in the arena where he had picked up Daniel just a week earlier, Seldon let his eyes roam the spectators, and he cringed at seeing his daughter sitting there looking thoroughly pissed off at him.

  “Is she angry with us?” Daniel whispered.

  “Us?” Seldon asked, surprised. “She’s angry with me.”

  “But why? It wasn’t your fault even though it still changed me.”

  “If my children act disrespectful or do something stupid, it’ll reflect back on me. This reflects on her, too.” Seldon plucked at the red shirt.

  “So, she’s gonna watch you get whipped?”

  “Yes, Daniel, and so are you. You have to watch me whip Jonah, too, because you’re the one wronged.” Seldon figuring Caledon hadn’t broken it to the boy yet because he looked absolutely heartbroken.

  “I don’t want to.” Daniel’s beautiful green eyes grew blank. Seldon’s heart squeezed, and he wished he could allow the boy to leave, but, as with Rosadin, they both had to keep up a façade.

  “Please do me proud and sit next to Rosadin and watch,” Seldon said, putting his hands on Daniel’s shoulders. “And don’t cry. Wait with that until we get home. You’ll ruin your makeup.” Seldon tried for a smile, and the boy seemed to dig deep for some courage. Then he straightened his back the way he had that first day. Did the boy chose his battles or did he just have deposits of bravery he was still not sure how to tap into?

  “Ready?” Caledon asked.

  “Yes, My Lord,” Daniel said, sounding sure of himself. Caledon arched a brow at Seldon.

  “Yes, My Lord, I’m ready, too.” No, he wasn’t, but he wasn’t a coward. Just like his boy wasn’t one judging by the façade he managed.

  “Daniel, you should go find a seat.”

  “Yes, My Lord.” Daniel took Seldon’s hand to squeeze it before leaving. He didn’t look back until he sat next to Rosadin and Seldon’s nervousness grew.

  Caledon took the floor. “Well, all of you here have heard about the trial against Sire Seldon and the red-eye, Jonah. These are the results.” Caledon held up his tablet and read from it both the conclusion of Seldon’s trial and Jonah’s. He then nodded toward the entrance where the purple-eye, who had stood silently during the trials, led a fighting and complaining Jonah to the pole. He shackled the struggling man’s arms to the top of the pole and stood to the side, his hands clasped in front of him.

  Seldon picked up one of the whips and glared at the one he left on the hook as it would soon rip through his skin. But he bit back the fear and stepped forward. Fifty lashes, and he had to distance himself to not really lay into Jonah. He had become quite angry with the red-eye, and he couldn’t let that take over. He also couldn’t let the fear hinder him so he’d end up not hitting hard enough. Therefore, he focused on the last person he had been forced to whip—one of his trainers who lost control with a breeder and broke her leg. First order of business was to t
une out Jonah’s pleas for him not to do it.

  As with any other punishment, Seldon did it because he had to. He didn’t get off on it. He just remembered a different time and knew that this was the lesser of the evils. That gave him the calm needed to crack the whip on Jonah’s back. Forty-nine more, and the next crack of the whip would be from the first of a hundred landing on his own back.

  * * * *

  Daniel felt relief when Rosadin grabbed a tight hold of his hand when Seldon stepped forward to whip Jonah. The red-eye was as rude and disrespectful as he had been during the trial. And in Seldon’s home. It kind of scared Daniel that he wasn’t as opposed to the punishment as he would have sworn he was a week ago.

  He wanted to talk to Rosadin about all of it, about why she would sit there and be angry with Seldon, but he also thought it best to wait until they returned to the apartment. At least he could ask her to come along.

  Rosadin leaned closer. “It helps if you focus on something a few inches to the side of what you’re supposed to be watching,” she whispered, a slight tremor in her voice betraying her calm. Daniel felt better knowing she wasn’t as unfazed as she seemed, and he figured it was her respect for Seldon that she kept up the appearance just like he tried to do.

  The crowd murmured, and Daniel squeezed Rosadin’s hand a bit harder when a lash opened up the skin on Jonah’s back. His screams reached new pitches of pain, and after the first fifteen lashes, Daniel lost his resolve to feel like the guy deserved it.

  Upon finishing the fifty, Seldon unceremoniously dropped the whip, pulled the red shirt off, and dumped it next to the whip. He then went to the empty pole next to Jonah where he reached up, grabbed the chain, and ducked his head between his arms. The purple-eyed man who had led Jonah in stepped closer, looking at Seldon.

  “No need to shackle him. Unless you want us to?” Caledon asked.

  “No need,” Seldon declared, and Daniel felt a growing admiration for Seldon’s guts.